summer | Pilgrim's Perch

I was late in planting my sweet peas this year and it seems that with the cold and wet spring they’ve been playing ‘catch-up’ ever since. So it was a joy to see the first flower at the weekend. Just when everybody else’s beautiful sweet peas are finishing mine are finally getting going!

The first sweet pea in my garden finally makes an appearance! — *First sweet pea of the summer*

Sweet peas have so much going for them. Native to Sicily, the southern Mediterranean and the Aegean Islands they bring a breath of summer sun and warmth to any garden.

Vibrant Mediterranean colours — *A bright blue day in the Mediterranean*

The colours are rich and vibrant – or delicate and subtle. The perfume is simply heavenly – and quite heady. Just a few stems cut and placed in a vase can scent a room for days. In the language of flowers sweet peas have been used to express youthful love – symbols of delight, beauty and affection. As a child I recall visiting a great aunt and being given a posy of sweet peas to take home – it was the first time I had encountered their wonderful fragrance and I was entranced!

A child holds a delicate flower — *Childhood memories of floral posies*

Sweet peas have been associated with gratitude and loyalty and are linked with firm and lasting friendships. The flowers appear fragile but are hardy and resilient and have been used to symbolize strength and courage in the face of adversity.

Woman in field re-energised with sweet pea power! — *The sweet pea stands for courage and strength*

The poet John Keats wrote:

Here are sweet peas, on tip-toe for a flight:
With wings of gentle flush o’er delicate white…

So enjoy them – outdoors in all their splendour as they romp up a support, or indoors where their colour and perfume will bring joy to all.

Small crystal vase holding posy of sweet peas — *A sweet pea posy*

Truly a case of ‘better late than never…’

It always seems a bit strange that we celebrate midsummer only two days after the summer solstice. This year feels particularly odd as summer has been a long time arriving in the northern hemisphere – only now are the winter woollies being put away and sunny summery clothes take centre stage.

Children on beach in summer clothing — *Summer arrives at last*

The days are at their longest, the sun feels welcomingly warm and gardens that were held back by spring chill are now bursting into life as though making up for lost time.

The garden gets going... — *Summer blooms*

Before the change from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar in 1752 St Barnabas Day fell close to midsummer and there’s piece of folklore that goes like this:

Barnaby bright, Barnaby bright
	The longest day and the shortest night.
	When St Barnabas smiles both night and day,
	Poor ragged robin blooms in the hay.

Ragged robin is a wild flower of the hay meadows and haymaking is at its peak at this time of the year. Good weather is essential to ensure the hay is harvested in peak condition and stored dry for winter fodder. St Barnabas day marks the first day of haymaking – the old country saying was, ‘On the day of St Barnabas, put the scythe to the grass.’

A field with hay gathered in — *Hay making gets under way*

The heat from the midsummer sun is thought to imbue herbs with their healing qualities so this is the day when they are gathered at dawn and then put to dry for use in simple herbal remedies or hung at doors and windows to ward off harmful spirits.

Gathering herbs at dawn — *Gathering herbs*

St John’s Day falls on 24th June and celebrates midsummer. There is an old belief that, ‘If the cuckoo sings after St John, the harvest will be late.’

The cuckoo starts to sing in April — *A cuckoo – the traditional herald of summer*

Usually the cuckoo arrives in April, starts singing in the middle of the month and stops in late June – so there appears to be a grain of truth in the observation that if the cuckoo is still singing after midsummer then the season is certainly late and the harvest will be late too – potentially serious if it coincides with the less reliable weather of early autumn.

Tag: summer

My Sweet Peas: Better Late than Never!

Joyful Midsummer in the Garden